According to the Associated Press, Halliburton, who was BP’s cement contractor on the drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 announced that it is trying to negotiate a settlement over its role in the disaster. Halliburton CFO Mark McCollum said during a conference call to discuss first-quarter earnings that talks were at an “advanced stage.” The Houston-based company says it hopes court-facilitated negotiations will resolve a substantial portion of private claims it has faced since the Deepwater Horizon explosion. “We are working hard to come to a reasonable settlement that would be in the best interest of our shareholders,” Halliburton president and CEO Dave Lesar said on the same call.
Testimony ended last Wednesday for the first phase of a trial over BP’s Macondo well blowout. The April 20, 2010, blowout triggered an explosion that killed 11 workers and spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans presided over the trial without a jury and heard eight weeks of testimony. Barbier, who is not expected to rule for several months, ultimately could decide how much more money BP, Halliburton and rig owner Transocean Ltd. owe for their roles in the catastrophe.
Halliburton and BP have blamed each other for the failure of the cement job to seal the Macondo well. During the trial, BP asked Barbier to sanction Halliburton for allegedly destroying evidence about the role that its cement slurry design could have played in the blowout. After the trial started on Feb. 25, Halliburton discovered cement samples at a Lafayette laboratory that were not turned over to the Justice Department for testing after the spill. Halliburton lawyers called it a “simple misunderstanding” and accused BP of trying to create a “sideshow.” Plaintiffs’ attorneys accused Halliburton of using leftover cement that contained a destabilizing additive in an effort to save time and money. They also claimed Halliburton employees conducted “off-the-record” cement tests and did not write down some test results because they feared how they could affect spill-related litigation.
Halliburton said its most recent settlement offer included an unspecified amount of both stock and cash. McCollum said the company believes it has “substantial legal arguments and defenses against any liability” and is “fully prepared to see this matter to conclusion in the courts” if the talks don’t produce an agreement. Halliburton would not identify the party or parties with which it is trying to reach a settlement, but the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee is the team of private lawyers for Gulf Coast businesses and residents who claim the spill cost them money. The committee’s members negotiated a multibillion-dollar settlement with BP more than a year ago. Committee spokesman David Falkenstein said in a statement that it does not comment on the “existence or non-existence of settlement discussions.” The Justice Department did not sue Halliburton but has reached separate settlements with BP and Transocean. The states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi also have filed spill-related lawsuits.
If you or someone you know has been injured by working on an oil rig, contact the attorneys at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or 713-222-7211.